Technology: Cytokineand antigen-based immunosuppressive therapies for multiple sclerosis. Use: In the last decade partially effective disease-modifying drugs for multiple sclerosis (MS) have finally emerged. All require self-injection and include interferon-β (Betaseron, Avonex and Rebif) and glatiramer acetate (Copaxone). In general, these agents reduce the frequency of MS relapses by onethird...

BACKGROUND Subcutaneous interferon beta-1a (sc IFN β-1a) therapy (44 µg or 22 µg, three times weekly) improves relapse rates and disability progression in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). While early treatment with disease-modifying drugs may maximize therapeutic benefit, patients with low adherence or long treatment gaps are at increased risk of relapse. MySupport is an industr...

Objective To investigate whether serum neurofilament light chain (NF-L) and chitinase 3-like 1 (CHI3L1) predict disease activity in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). Methods A cohort of 85 patients with RRMS were followed for 2 years (6 months without disease-modifying treatment and 18 months with interferon-beta 1a [IFNB-1a]). Expanded Disability Status Scale was scored at baseline and every 6 ...

BACKGROUND There are a lack of biomarkers which can be used to predict clinical outcomes for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients receiving interferon beta (IFN-β). Thus the objective of this study was to characterize changes in CD4+ T-lymphocyte expression in an unbiased manner following initiation of intramuscular (IM) IFN-β-1a treatment, and then to verify those findings using marker-specific as...

OBJECTIVE To test the effect of oral contraceptives (OCs) in combination with interferon β (IFN-β) on disease activity in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). METHODS One hundred fifty women with RRMS were randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive IFN-β-1a subcutaneously (SC) only (group 1), IFN-β-1a SC plus ethinylstradiol 20 μg and desogestrel 150 μg (group 2), or IFN-β...

abstract        background and objective: this study was conducted to evaluate epidemiology of risk factors for hepatitis c virus (hcv) transmission, and determine the association of its genotypes with viral load and response to treatment in patients referred to the infectious disease clinic of khorramabad.         methods: the study included patients infected with hepatitis c referred to the i...

BACKGROUND Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has improved the diagnosis and monitoring of multiple sclerosis (MS). In clinical trials, MRI has been found to detect treatment effects with greater sensitivity than clinical measures; however, clinical and MRI outcomes tend to correlate poorly. METHODS In this observational study, patients (n = 550; 18-50 years; relapsing-remitting MS...

INTRODUCTION Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the CNS. Evidence suggests that MS should be treated as early as possible in order to maximize the benefit of treatment. AREAS COVERED This review details current understanding about the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). The pharmacological and clinical data on the use of subcutaneous (s.c.) interferon ...

BACKGROUND Interferon beta is used to modify the course of relapsing multiple sclerosis. Despite interferon beta therapy, many patients have relapses. Natalizumab, an alpha4 integrin antagonist, appeared to be safe and effective alone and when added to interferon beta-1a in preliminary studies. METHODS We randomly assigned 1171 patients who, despite interferon beta-1a therapy, had had at leas...